Dec 31, 2008

This is the year I have been waiting for. A year where everything is 2,009 times better than 2008. No more sick animals, no more family drama, no more anything negative!

As always, it's about that time to make New Year's resolutions. Whether we keep them or not, it's still part of the tradition of ringing in a new year, right? I'm not going to even bother making any, because well, we all know I won't keep any. ;-) But The Mafiosos seems to each have one resolution for this new year.

Bruno promises to try and shrink his FLH (freakishly large head). He wants it to be normal-sized by this March so a St. Patrick's Day hat will finally look normal on him.

Carmela promises to stop hiding in places where I can't find her.

Vinnie says this is the year he will achieve his Canine Good Citizen title.It's been long enough!

Gino says he promises to stop eating earthworms when it rains outside. He says it was funny hearing me scream as he ate them, but now he kind of feels bad for me, so he's going to stop doing that.

I asked the three cats what they resolved to do this year and they all looked at me and laughed. They said "We are cats; we never promise do to anything." Although I think I did hear Blue say that she promises to not get sick every again like she did this year. It was barely a whisper, so I could have been hearing things.

"You heard no such thing, crazy lady!"

2009 is going to the year that makes up for 2008. I pity the fool that tries to stop that! :-)

Dec 19, 2008

Bruno won the entire staff over with the powers of his freakishly large head. He was showered with cookies which immediately made everyone his new BFF's. The entire process lasted less than 15 minutes and the machine they used to take a pint of blood was not as scary as I thought it would be! It went off successfully and Bruno felt well enough to chase a squirrel after his donation. :-)

The one thing I did not think about was the fact that Bruno cannot be walked out with his leash attached to his collar. Since the donation site is located at the jugular, it's not a good idea to apply any pressure to the area immediately after the dog has donated. So the staff helped me make a makeshift harness using his belly.

I also received a copy of all the tests preformed on Bruno's blood during his initial screening. I added up the costs and this is well over $400 worth of free tests! Included in the screening were the following tests and detection of pathogens:

Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Anaplasma platys

Ehrlichia canis

Rickettsia spp (including RMsF)

Mycoplasma haemofelis and haemocanis

Leishmani

Babesia sp (including canis, divergens and gibsoni)

Brucella canis

Von Willebrand Factor

Heartworm

Blood Typing

Chemistry Panel

So if you haven't given this a second thought and your dog qualifies, please think about participating with your dog! You'll be helping to save lives in the process!

Here is more information on who can qualify as a dog blood donor:

Donor dogs for the new program must

Be 1 to 8 years old,

Weigh at least 55 pounds and

Never been pregnant or had puppies.

Other information

Dogs and their owners must live within 100 miles of UC Davis.

The initial health check, which includes veterinary services valued at $300, will be free.

All subsequent donation visits will also be free.

If any health problems are detected, the owner will be advised to follow up with the dog's regular veterinarian.

Those accepted into the program will return in two to three months for a half-hour donation visit.

At the animal's first visit

The appointment will last for about one hour.

The dog will be given a health check.

The dog will be screened for infectious diseases.

A unit of blood (about one pint) will be collected.

Dog owners interested in learning more about the blood donor program or scheduling a health-screening appointment for their dog should contact the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at (530) 752-1393, ext. 421.

Maybe when you're done you might get a cool scarf like Bruno was given. :-) However, you probably won't have the freakishly large head needed to complete the ensemble.

P.S. We are totally ignoring the fact that "Science Diet" has infiltrated the world of canine fashion!

P.P.S. That *is* Bruno's happy face! :-p

P.P.S. We donated blood before Bruno was diagnosed with a tumor! So no worries that we are giving out tumor laden blood! :-)

Dec 13, 2008

Bruno is doing well today. The anesthesia has completely left his system and he's back to to his normal self.

Especially his eyes....which is a relief. The anesthesia for some reason made his eyes completely dilated and it was sort of creepy to look at his eyes. He looked like he either smoked some very special herb or was high on an acid trip.

Now I am engaged in a constant battle to keep his sock on. I really don't want to have to subject him to an Elizabethan Collar, but if he continues to rip the sock off and lick his stitches, then I will.

I realized that the news of Bruno's tumor was not explained very well by me. During one of Ryan's and Bruno's famous wrestling sessions, Ryan discovered a lump on Bruno's left forearm. When it comes to lumps and bumps, I don't mess around; I quickly made a vet appointment and we were seen the next day.

My vet said it could be a type of tumor that bully breeds (and especially predominantally white dogs) often develop and most often from exposure to the sun. The vet did not like the location, feel and size of the lump and recommended excising it right away. Due to the vascular and muscular structure of the forearm, it was possible that as the lump grew bigger, it could possible develop into the muscle and have its own set of vascular connections constructed by Bruno's body. The tumor was quickly lasered off and sent to be biopsied.

It is in times like these that I love my vet.

It is in times like these that I hate waiting.

Hopefully, the results of the biopsy will come back quickly and I can finally exhale.

If there's ever a lesson I have learned from this, it is that I will give all of The Mafiosos a daily rundown with my hands all over their bodies. This way, I will be ahead of the lump game!

Bruno will also most likely have to wear sunblock from now on. He has to protect his sensitive pink skin. ;-)

Alright, enough technical stuff...onto the fun part. :-)

Even though the rule is no dogs allowed on the couch, today I made an exception. I could not say no to his pitiful face.

Ryan also shared a waffle with Bruno this morning. Bruno is now exclaiming "But I had a tumor and could have died...and will die if I don't have [insert item wanted here]!!"

Enjoy it while you can B-Man!

Thank you to everyone who has sent their prayers, good thoughts and juju our way. I know I've asked a lot from every one first with Blue and now with Bruno. I appreciate every thought and tear sent our way. Opening my inbox to see numerous emails wishing Bruno the best has helped me tremendously to keep staying positive. Thank you!

Dec 8, 2008

Fawn was very nice to send Carmela some fashionable evening gear. In case Carmela receives an invitation to a holiday party in the next few weeks, she'll be ready to go in this designer cheetah print dress!

In addition, Fawn sent Carmela some fashionable collars!

Fawn's gift had me in stitches. Only Fawn would be able to find a cheetah print dress! :-p

Ok, cue up that RuPaul video again! Because Carmela is about to work it, girl!

Dec 5, 2008

Carmela received a very generous gift. Bison's Grandmother passed along lots of clothes that no longer fit her dachshund puppy.

I also had a realization that 99.9% of Carmela's expanding wardrobe has come from friends buying or donating clothes. That is my punishment for declaring "Never will I dress Carmela! NEVER!"

Turns out that I do have to dress Carmela. Not for fashion's sake, but for warmth's sake. If I take her out on a walk with the boys and the grass is wet, she shivers and you can hear her bones rattle. I asked my vet about this and my vet said in very tiny dogs, prolonged exposure to the cold burns lots of energy. This can lead to low blood sugar and eventually shock.

Well, if I am going to be categorized in the "Crazy Woman Who Dresses Her Dog" group, I might as well let you readers revel in the craziness!

And hence, we begin Carmela's Fashion Show!

(It is extremely neccesary to play the following video as you scroll down to see the pictures!)

First up, we have this classy green ensemble. It has such a warm covering for the neck area and an gorgeous snowflake appropriate for the upcoming holiday season.

Just as warm is this cute little Argyle number. The cream color matches perfectly with Carmela's cream- tipped toes.

In case it is very cold outside, we have this outfit which provides complete body coverage. Once again, it would seem that Argyle just loves Carmela!

We also have this cool little vest/harness combo...it's perfect for when it's semi-chili outside but the sun is out in full force.

This puffy down jacket has become a favorite. I will guarantee you that soon, every Chihuahua on your block will be wearing a jacket like this!

No seriously, this is my favorite jacket. It has this cool slit in the back for her leash and keeps her really warm. So warm, that I will sometimes pick her up and shove my hands in the jacket for a little warmth. Hehehehe...

Next up is the Street Cred series. Just because Carmela looks very serious in Argyle doesn't mean you shouldn't take her serious! She's willing to throw it down every once in a while and wants you to know she "knows" people from the hood.